Book Text

This book is titled "The Three Keys - the Second". It is the story of a small girl by the name of Aiven and what happens to her when she seeks to unlock the second door.

Aiven would have never expected such amazing things to be hidden behind such an odd door. She looked at the remaining two keys and wondered what interesting things these ones kept locked away. Finally she answered the giant one-eyed man and said, "Yes, I think I am still curious. Show me to the next door," and remembering her manners finished with, "if you would be so kind."

The cyclops reached down and hoisted Aiven onto his shoulders and said, "Hold onto my topknot... it might get bumpy." He then proceeded to step out of the first door and back into the plains. Aiven asked the giant, "Where are we going?" to which he responded, "You have the key to unlock your mind. We are going to find the door".

The cyclops then began to walk with slow, steady steps. As they began to travel in the direction of the sun, his pace began to pick up. Sooner than Aiven would have thought possible, they had reached a great shoreline with endless ocean ahead of them. Instead of stopping, however, the cyclops continued walking into the ocean.

Aiven was worried that they would sink, but noticed that the cyclops never broke the surface of the water. She asked him, "How do you do that?" The cyclops replied back, "When you put you mind to something, nothing is impossible." And for some reason, that made perfect sense to Aiven.

They continued to travel across the ocean until they eventually made landfall in a misty green forest. Aiven said, "What an odd forest". The cyclops replied, "It is not a forest. When you give something a second thought, you may wind up seeing things differently." So Aiven looked and thought again, and saw the forest for what it really was this time. And they both continued traveling.

As they traveled on, they came upon a land covered in snow and ice. They climbed a great mountain and saw winged lizards engaged in heated arguments. After they passed, Aiven asked why they were arguing. "New ideas are just as important as old ones. They think otherwise", said the cyclops. And they traveled on.

Eventually, the pair found themselves walking around a wild land, full of lush jungles and arid savannas. All around them were the ruins of a once mighty civilization. Before Aiven had a chance to ask, the cyclops said, "Even though you think you 'can' do it, you should always ask yourself if you 'should' do it. No one here has ever learned that." And they traveled on.

Soon enough, the cyclops announced that they had arrived at their destination and lowered Aiven to the ground. She looked around and recognized where they were. "But, we're back at where we started!", she said. When there was no reply, she looked around and saw that he was gone. All she was left with were his words during their journey.

Aiven remembered what the cyclops said about giving things a second thought. She gave the door a second look and saw there was another keyhole she didn't see before. She thought about whether she 'should' open the door just because she 'could', but being ten years old, wasn't able to understand the cyclops meant by that. Aiven then unlocked the door... and found no room on the other side. This time, she knew to turn around.

As she turned around, she wasn't surprised to see a new companion. In front of her was a very old centaur. She had seen one before, so she knew not to be rude and stare. The centaur looked at her and said, "You have unlocked your mind, child. You have used two keys. Forget about the third. I can lead you safely home now, if you so desire."